On Yom Kippur take a "soulfie"

The VOICE of Inspiration

By Rabbi Rick Sherwin

I first learned about selfies in 2009 upon arrival Israel when I offered to take a photo of two members of our group pointing the camera at themselves. I laughed at myself when they explained what they would be doing throughout the trip.

In selfies, the image of oneself is larger than whatever is in the background. Rabbi Naomi Levy, in her volume ‘Einstein and the Rabbi,’ describes the SOULFIE, a mental image that gives soulful priority over all of the physical joys on our path through life. Rabbi Levy describes the SOULFIE as our daily attempt to meet our own true essence: what it is that makes us who we are.

Yom Kippur 2017 began on the evening of Friday, September 29

and ended on the evening of Saturday, September 30th

A STORY: After Adam and Eve taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (I do not believe they did anything wrong), they hear the sound of God approaching and they hide in the bushes. God asks, “Where are you?” Think about it: It’s a strange question. Why would God not know where they are? After all, there are only two humans on the face of the earth!

Commentators agree that God did not need to know, but Adam needs to know. It is a question each of us should ask every morning when we look in the mirror: Where am I? What truly is important in my life? How am I touching others in a meaningful way? In reality, it is the message of Yom Kippur. Take a SOULFIE!

A QUOTE FOR YOM KIPPUR (C.G. Jung) - "Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."

Rabbi Rick Sherwin, a graduate of UCLA, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Rabbi Rick’s passion is filling spiritual services and interfaith educational programs with creativity, relevance, dialogue, and humor.